What do ducks like about a coop?

[Miss Cheep]

This is my second thread about ducks coops, lol. So now I have kind of decided on a coop design. So here come a whole bunch of questions about what the ducks themselves like. What kind of bedding do ducks like the best? Do ducks ( at least the muscovies ) need roosts? Will they stay in their coop if there is food, and will be rewarded every time they go in? Does the coop have to have an actually floor, or can it just be open to the grass? Do they need a run if the coop is basically a nighttime coop? We also have 30 ducks, downsizing to 15.

 

[fatty and friends]

we use hemp bedding for our ducks and it’s better than any other bedding we’ve tried

it also needs a floor or a predator will dig in and kill them

 

[KaleIAm]

we use hemp bedding for our ducks and it’s better than any other bedding we’ve tried

it also needs a floor or a predator will dig in and kill them

Where do you get hemp bedding and what do you like about it?

 

[fatty and friends]

Where do you get hemp bedding and what do you like about it?

it is way more absorbent then any bedding we’ve tried so lasts a lot longer, there’s also less of a poop smell than with other beddings

i use “Eaton Pet and Pasture” but there’s cheaper companies on amazon as well

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I use pine shavings and only a floor in their sleeping house. I have not had any trouble with predators digging under but it may be where I live. Best to have a roof but then grass will not grow.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I use pine shaving on a wood floor with roll vinyl over top to protect the wood. My female muscovy love to roost and will be right next to the chickens but they are now in another coop with no roosts and are fine that way too.

 

[Miss Cheep]

Thank you for your replies! I think definitely pine shavings on the floor! Also, can ducks, chickens, and peafowl live together in the same coop?

 

[ruthhope]

My son and I both have coops with hardware cloth floors, cover in deep layers of pine shavings and leaves, with pine straw for extra warmth at night. The soil is very sand [near the coast in NE Florida] and the coops remain dry even when th4e ducks upset their water. I'm very into deep layering, and have only added layers since November. The deep layers will be dug out and into our respective composters when the weather warms up.

After 4 months, one morning we found that a night time visitor--likely a raccoon--had tried to dig under and into my son's coop -- from 2 different sides. So we know that the hardware cloth is essential.

My son has one muscovy and 3 Pekins; I have 2 muscovy and 1 Pekin, [We moved my smallest muscovy to my son's flock because of bullying. My son's Pekins are gentle and do not have pecking order issues.]

The little muscovy has always climbed up as high as possible in the coops to roost -- in mine there was an old cabinet I used as a nesting box, with a spare bale of pine straw stored on top to keep it dry. The muscovy went right to the top; in my son's coop which is lower, there is also a bale of pine straw used as a windbreak, and that is a favorite roosting place. My two big muscovy drakes have climbed onto the top of the cabinet, but not often. They are happy to sleep on the floor with the pekin drake who cannot get up onto the cabinet.

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[ruthhope]

Thank you for your replies! I think definitely pine shavings on the floor! Also, can ducks, chickens, and peafowl live together in the same coop?

if you have female ducks, they can live together in the same coop as chickens [and likely peafowl but I do not know about them]. But you should not put drakes in the same coop as hens.

 

[Miss Cheep]

if you have female ducks, they can live together in the same coop as chickens [and likely peafowl but I do not know about them]. But you should not put drakes in the same coop as hens.

Is that because of over mating? My drakes are very nice, usually only mate after taking baths, and they get along fine with my females. I am also going to have a very big coop.